A Bad Reminder
by HURRICANE'Hannah
Summary: Her tears began to increase as she felt the instrument of her death at the front of her throat. The cold reminder stung her skin as she began to tremble. Her eyes widened as in slow motion she felt the sharp talon slice her neck…


**Pairing(s):** RatchetxMikaela Banes and slight Sam WitwickyxBumblebee.  
><strong>Character<strong>**(s):** Main: Ratchet and Mikaela Banes. Others: Sam Witwicky and Maggie Madsen. Mentions: William Lennox, Jazz, Bumblebee, Smokescreen and Starscream.  
><strong>Setting:<strong> Post 2007 Movie. (1 year - acting as ROTF never happened)  
><strong>Warning(s):<strong> Sexual content between a Cybertronion and a human of heterosexual nature and mention of slight romantic content between a Cybertronion and a human of homosexual nature (both depending on how you see Transformers "genders") and holoform usage within this one-shot. If any of the mentioned bothers you, then please do not read.  
><strong>Words:<strong> 4,227. (Not including Author Notes)  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> Transformers and all related characters belong to Hasbro.  
><strong>Inspiration:<strong> This was a bit of a shout out for a fellow fanfiction author **chaitea16**. She is a supporter of the RatchetxMikaela pairing. This also helps people understand one of my biggest fears which is fireworks.  
><strong>Edit:<strong> _April 16, 2011_. I have decided to start writing fanfiction again and I am going to be re-adding some of my old one-shots back onto this site. This one-shot has only undergone some minor spelling/grammar edits.

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><p><em>The whisking black smoke, the crackling of small fires, the tremors shaking the ground, the deafening gunfire in the distance, the haunting screams of the scared and injured people that chilled her blood.<em>

_Mikaela stood in the smoking, destroyed street of Mission City. She watched in horror as Autobots and Decepticons viciously fought, while fellow humans were brutally and helplessly killed as a result._

_Tears began to fall from her blue eyes. She wanted to run but her feet wouldn't budge. She wanted to scream but her throat wouldn't make a sound. She wanted to find a way to help but her mind wouldn't process. _

_An evil and bone chilling laugh behind her made the hairs on her neck stand up. The cruel laugh could only belong to a Decepticon. She could feel the Decepticon's sharp talons rest on her shoulder; the sharp blade sliced her skin a little._

_Mikaela knew what was about to happen to her. She was going to die at the hands of a Decepticon. She was going to die scared and completely alone. She didn't want to die. There were still many things she wanted to do in her life._

_Her tears began to increase as she felt the instrument of her death at the front of her throat. The cold reminder stung her skin as she began to tremble. Her eyes widened as in slow motion she felt the sharp talon slice her neck…_

Mikaela's eyes shot open and her body quickly rose into a sitting position. As the familiar images of the rec room of the Autobot's base located under Hoover Dam were absorbed by her eyes, her fear began to fade away. She knew she was safe here.

She closed her eyes and let out a relived sigh. She then swung her legs over the edge of the black leather couch she had decided to take a nap on after supper.

Her eyes shifted over to the clock that hung on the wall over the giant, plasma television.

When she saw what numbers the hands were pointing to, she closed her eyes before opening them. She looked at the time again before closing and then re-opening her eyes again.

_Eight-thirty!_ She exclaimed in her mind. _That means I have only been asleep for forty minutes._

The brunette slouched against the back of the couch. In reality she had only been dreaming for forty minutes but the dream had felt like it had stretched on for hours.

She wiped her hand across her face in order to rid herself of the sweat and tears her dream had caused. It was a good thing she did because not even a second after she pulled her hand from her face, the doors of the rec room opened with a _whoosh_.

Her eyes snapped over to the entrance but she was relived to see Sam and Maggie stopped in front of the now closed doors. She knew that if it had been any of the bots, they would have known something was wrong instantly.

"Hey Mikaela," The curly blonde computer annalist greeted when she spotted the teen.

Mikaela plastered on a fake smile. "Hey guys."

"We were looking for you." Sam stated.

"Sorry, I wanted to relax." Mikaela offered despite knowing it was a lame excuse.

She watched as her ex-boyfriend raised a brow. She remembered how they had agreed to take a break due to the stress the events of Mission City had caused.

The both had heavy emotional and physical scars to come to terms with and knew that they wouldn't have it in them to help themselves and each other.

Even as the scars faded and the nightmares came less frequently, a large gap had separated the two teens. One that they found they couldn't repair.

Then a few months after Mission City, the event that permanently flipped the shut off switch to their relationship happened.

She had caught Bumblebee kissing Sam. She had gone to his house via a recently revived Jazz in order to give him his thing back. His parent's didn't seem to be home and no one was answering the door.

When she realized said door was unlocked, she let herself in and decided she would just leave Sam's things on his bed with a note. She expertly walked up the stairs and headed for his room. She opened the door but stopped dead in her tracks.

The items she was carrying dropped onto the floor which alerted the two occupants in the room. They had thrown themselves apart from each other and blushed furiously. At the time, they had both looked like they had been caught stealing from a cookie jar before dinner.

Mikaela remembered how surprised she was. She didn't say a word and just turned and began to walk out of his room and down the hall. Crashes and curses were heard behind her but she kept on waling.

She did stop however, when Sam came running out of his room, begging her to let him explain.

Mikaela had listened as Sam explained how that was Bumblebee's holoform, a device Ratchet had been working on. He explained how they had just wanted to test how real it was and once thing let to another…

When she had turned towards him, it had silenced him in mid-sentence. It had been silent until she had asked him if he loved Bumblebee.

Without missing a beat, the sandy brown hair boy had stated yes. It was at that moment Mikaela realized her heart was no longer beating for a Sam in a romantic love.

She had just given a small smile to both Sam and Bumblebee, who had his head sticking out from Sam's doorway, before she said as long as you guys are happy then left the house for the last time.

Mikaela was never disgusted that both Sam and Bumblebee were two males in love. In her eyes, as long as the two people were happy with each other, then they should be left alone. Even the thought of them being two different species in love didn't disgust her, and it didn't repulse the other humans that frequented the base or the Autobots when Sam and Bumblebee came out with the relationship.

Even if she had been disgusted, she would have been a hypocrite considering she had recently grown romantic feelings for a fellow Autobot as well. She still couldn't figure out how she had fallen in love with…

"Mikaela?" Sam's worried voice called out to her.

The brunette snapped back into reality before plastering a fake smile on her face. "Sorry, lost in thought."

Sam's eyebrows rose higher but he decided not to comment. "The others wanted to know if you wanted to come celebrate Independence Day with us."

Mikaela grew stiff. She knew were this was going. "Celebrate how?" She tried to keep her voice even.

"With fireworks of course," Maggie stated with a large grin as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

At the word _fireworks_, Mikaela's face paled. A large and painful knot began to twist in her stomach. A wave on nausea crashed into her body and she suddenly felt dizzy and lightheaded.

Mikaela had always enjoyed fireworks when she was a child, but now the colorful explosions began to serve as a bad reminder of the red and orange explosions of Mission City.

Images of her dream began to refill her mind and she had to close her eyes to help gain her composer.

"Kaela," Her eyes shot opened and returned to Sam's worried face. "Don't you _want _to see the fireworks with us?" The boy frowned when he noticed how pale Mikaela had quickly become.

"No thanks." Mikaela quickly responded as she tried to think of an excuse. "I'm suddenly not feeling so hot." She got up from the couch and slowly made her way over to them. She just wanted to curl up under her covers and get away from these images.

"You do look a bit pale." Maggie commented with concern. "Are you going to be alright?"

"Yah," Mikaela answered as she placed a hand over her stomach in a weak attempt to help calm it down. "I'm just going to go lay down."

Sam's frown deepened. "Alright, hope you feel better."

Mikaela gave a weak smile at his thoughtfulness' before saying "Thanks." She then left the rec room and slowly headed towards her guest quarters.

"Maggie," Sam turned to the older woman. "Tell the others that Mikaela won't make it." He stated. "I'm going to see if Ratchet is willing to stay behind and check on her."

The Australian annalist nodded her head before heading off towards the main entrance of the Autobot base.

Sam quickly turned and headed off towards Ratchet's Med Bay. Something was going on with Mikaela and he had a feeling she was covering it up.

xxx

Ratchet was tiding up his tools he had used on a routine maintenance check for Jazz. He had washed them and was just putting the last one in its proper spot when the door to his Med Bay opened with a familiar _whoosh_.

"Ratch," A familiar male voice called.

Ratchet spun around and instantly looked down at the teen boy who had helped save planet Earth.

"What can I assist you with, Samuel?" Ratchet asked as he lowered himself down to make the teen more comfortable.

"Can I ask you something?" The teen requested before adding in a softer voice. "It's about Mikaela."

At the mention of the girl who he had feelings for his spark soared. Her bravery on the battlefield was something to be admired. Even Lennox and his soldiers' were impressed when she refused to leave the injured Bumblebee's side. Not too mention her knowledge of cars made her excellent at helping repair the damages they had all revived.

That was why he had requested for Mikaela to become his apprentice. Her smaller fingers were better suited to fix damages in seams where he couldn't reach.

A smile morphed Ratchet's lip components. "What would your request be?"

"Could you stay with her tonight?" The teen broke eye contact with the medic before his gaze wandered to the floor. "She says she's sick, but I don't believe her."

Ratchet's smile dropped. "Of course, but I do not understand why you suspect that she is being untruthful?"

Sam sighed. "After Mission City, life was hard but I always had Bumblebee to hold me through the nightmares." He looked back into the CMO's crystal blue optics. "Mikaela doesn't have anyone. She is suffering alone and I know I can't help her."

"If I am to understand, you suppose I can aid her through the emotional trauma?" Ratchet asked as he stared down at the broken teen.

"I see the way you look at her. I used to look at her the same way. It's the same look Bumblebee gives me." His eyes began to shine a little. "You love her Ratchet, and it's exactly what she needs right now."

Ratchet nodded his helm slightly. Sure, he was no physiologist like Smokescreen had been, but what Sam was saying made sense. Mikaela needed someone to hold her through the nightmares and reassure her that everything would be alright.

"Very well," Ratchet began to stand up with a few creaks. "I shall watch over her."

The way Sam's posture relaxed slightly indicated that the teen understood that Ratchet had not just meant her would guard her for only one night but for the rest of his life.

Sam smiled his thanks before turning around and heading for the door. He suddenly stopped before opening his mouth. "Oh and Ratchet…be good to her."

Without waiting for the large mech to reply, the teen walked out of the Medical Bay.

Ratchet watched as the doors shut behind the boy. He quickly realized that in his own way, Sam had given him permission and blessing to be with Mikaela.

Even though he was no longer there to hear it, Ratchet still replied, "I shall."

xxx

"Uhh," Mikaela moaned pathetically from under her covers.

The brunette had hoped that the warmth and safety of her covers would chase away the uneasy feeling in both her stomach and her heart. The images kept flashing before her eyes and in a frustrated fit of rage; she threw the covers over her head.

After a few minutes of silence, she could feel the warmth pulling her body into a light doze. Part of her desperately wanted to stay awake but the other part lulled her into a false hope that maybe this time she would have _that_ nightmare.

It was partially true.

_Mikaela didn't open her eyes. She could smell the recognizable scent of smoke. She could hear the memorable sounds of gunfire and terrified screams. She found it extremely depressing how it was as she expected it to be, showing how many times she had been haunted by this nightmare._

_Quickly she then realized something was different. The sounds of gunfire and the bystander's scream almost sounded distant, like they were further away then last time. The smell of smoke was also less intense then before, only stinging her nose and throat instead of drowning her ability to breath like it normally did._

_She decided to take a chance and open her eyes. Once her vision sharpened, she noticed that there were no robots locked in a death match, no soldier desperately trying to aid their robotic allies._

_Her gaze swiftly darted to her right when she heard the scrapping on metal on metal. For the first time in one of her dreams, she felt her feet move beneath her._

_She crouched beside a building and watched one of the most horrific sights of her life._

_Ratchet was flat on his back, blue sparks crackling over his frame. She watched with a sick feeling as the orange life substance gushed from the medic's mouth._

_When Starscream's sinister and imposing body came into her line of sight, she could feel phantom slices on her neck. In horror, she threw her hands up to her that but felt no slashes, no blood. She then came to the conclusion that it was Starscream's claws that took her life. It was Starscream that haunted her dreams._

_It was at that moment that Mikaela had a gut feeling something bad was going to happen._

_In slow motion, she witnessed as Starscream punched through Ratchet's chestplates. The screams of agony that were ripped from Ratchet's vocal processor made Mikaela sick to her stomach in which her body reacted by making her fall to her knees and grasp her stomach._

_With a menacing laugh, Starscream ruthlessly tore out Ratchet's spark before crushing the glowing orb in his hand. Tears stung her eyes as Mikaela watched Ratchet's helm roll towards her direction, his once crystal blue optics dark as night._

"_**RATCHET!"**_

_Mikaela hardly noticed Starscream fly away. All she could process was that Ratchet was gone, dead. The mech she loved would no longer be by her side._

_Tears ragged down her face as she sobbed._

"_Mik…"_

"…_kaela!"_

"**Mikaela!"**

The teen rose from her bed, momentarily confused as to where she was. Soft breathing beside her made her turn her head slowly. Her eyes widened when her terrified blue eyes locked with concern crystal blue.

"R-Ratchet?" She squeaked as she began to slowly recognize the features of the CMO's rarely used holoform.

"I'm here, Mikaela." Ratchet whispered as his hands outstretched to offer what comfort she needed.

Tears poured down the brunette's face as she jumped from her bed and flew into Ratchet's muscular chest. At first, Ratchet didn't react. He just knelt there, still as a statue. However, when he felt her arms hastily wrapped around his torso, he snapped into action. With one arm wrapped around her back and the other around her neck, he brought the sobbing girl into him.

He placed his lips on the top of her head, gently kissing her soft hair. His fingers gently massaged her neck and lower back to help sooth the terribly distressed girl in his arms. For a split second, the CMO was ecstatic at the realization that for the first time, the girl he had feelings for was securely in his embrace. However, a chocked sob quickly destroyed any joy coursing through his veins. This was not the way he wanted Mikaela in his arms.

They stayed like that for what seemed like hours. Finally, Ratchet felt Mikaela shift away from his chest. He adjusted his hands to rest on her shoulders'; his fingers taking great care to massage away the torment.

"I'm sorry." Mikaela whispered as her gaze locked onto the navy blue carpet.

A gentle smile fell on Ratchet's dusty pink lips. His index finger hocked under Mikaela's chin and gently urged her to look him in the eyes. "There is no reason to for you to be apologizing." His thumb lightly caressed her cheek. "It was just a dream."

"Nightmare," She corrected in a broken whisper.

Ratchet's scans alerted him that more tears were collecting in Mikaela's darkened blue eyes.

"Come," He gently urged as his hands returned to her shoulders'.

With Ratchet's hands forcing her up, Mikaela slowly stood up before the medic guided her to sit on the edge of her bed.

The moment when she felt Ratchet sit beside her, she broke. Her walls that hid her agony and fear shattered around her.

"Oh Ratchet," She cried before she dropped her head into her hands.

She was sick of being the strong one. She was tired of having to cry alone in the dark. She was no longer interested in keeping up her false bravado. For once, she wanted to be selfish. She wanted to be offered comfort instead of just giving it.

Ratchet observed with a heavy spark as one of the strongest humans he had known suddenly broke. He wrapped his arms around her and brought her into him. When her head hit his chest, on instinct, she weakly let her fingers curl around the fabric of the soft turtle neck the medic's holoform wore.

"I am here, Mikaela." He reassured her by tightening his hold and resting his chin on her chest. "I will not depart until you command me to."

Whether it was his words or something else, he didn't know but whatever it was, it seemed to be the last gentle push the distressed women needed.

"It's the damn nightmares!" The teen spat in a mix of sadness and anger. "I'm back in Mission City. The fighting, the screams, the bodies; it's all there, in front of me. And then…" She tried to swallow a lump that rose in her throat.

"Go ahead," Ratchet tenderly encouraged, his fingers' once again massaging her neck.

"And then, I can feel them; sharp talons. They start on my shoulder before slowly moving to my neck. I wake up just as he…" She took a deep breath. "Just as he begins to slice my throat,"

"_He?"_

"Starscream,"

Ratchet response to that was to cradle the brunette closer to him. "I promise you, he can not execute any harm to you. I shall protect you with my very spark."

"NO!" Mikaela screeched as she flung herself around the CMO. "Not you spark, p-please."

Ratchet was extremely worried when she began to repeat that sentence over and over again. Each time, her voice cracked more under the crushing pressure of her emotions.

When she began to become hysterical, Ratchet had no choice but to gently push her down onto the bed. Using each hand to pin her arms down and locking her legs around hers, he effectively prevented the stage of hysteria when she would begin to flail.

To his astonishment, she did not fight his hold like he expected her to. She just continued to sob and repeat her previous statement. His worry for the girl's sate of mind began to fuel his actions.

"Mikaela!"

His stern voice snapped Mikaela at attention. Her eyes locked with his and her voice cut out. Slowly, without breaking eye contact, he brought her right hand to his chest over his steadily beating spark.

Her blue eyes widened slightly as his spark slowly brought her closer to her regular state of mind. However, the CMO could still tell that the broken brunette needed more to convince her.

There was only one action left that he believed would pull her from the depths of her hysteria. For a moment, the medic didn't want to do it. It felt like he was about to take advantage of the girl beneath him. However, even if there was a chance that this simple action could pull her back to him, he was prepared to deal with the consequences that would result.

With his mind make up, Ratchet leaned down, using his elbows as supports, and softly molded his lips onto hers.

The kiss was simple. A five second period were his holoform's lips rested upon hers before he slowly pulled away. He opened his eyes, which he ad unknowingly closed, to gaze down at Mikaela.

In no more than a few blinks of her eye lids, the hand that still rested upon his chest once again balled the fabric of his shirt. Ratchet monitored with a small sense of victory as the Mikaela he knew and loved returned within her eyes.

"Ratchet, you're alive." She whispered, almost like she was afraid he was only a mirage.

"Yes,"

That simple conformation was enough to warrant Mikaela flopping her hand down to her side. A sigh of relief left her lips just before they curled into a small, relived smile. "Thank, _Primus_."

"Mikaela, I…"

"I saw it." Mikaela cut off in a cold, dead tone, her smile fading and her voice/face returning to a neutral look. She broke eye contact, her gaze shifting further up. "I watched as he ripped your spark from its SHU and crushed it." Her eyes lowered as she once more locked with the confused crystal blue eyes of Ratchet. "I watched you die."

"Mikaela," Ratchet was at a loss for words.

Now things were beginning to fit together. It explained why she had been screeching his name when he first arrived. It further explained why she had gone into hysteria when he had mentioned his spark.

"I know with the Decepticons you can never realistically promise me you will always come back, but could you at least promise me that you will try?"

A small smile formed on Ratchet's lips. "On my pledge as an Autobot, you have my word."

Finally, a true smile danced across those beautiful and soft lips of his apprentice. The shine in her eyes was brighter than he had ever witnessed since meeting her.

As the haze of her hysteria attack fully drifted away, Mikaela could still feel the slight buzz of a phantom kiss. Her cheeks flustered slightly as short, static burst of a memory of Ratchet's lips pressed against hers raced through her mind.

"Uh, Ratchet." She spoke, embarrassment running through her as their current position they were in clicked.

Ratchet watched as her cheeks turned a dust pink. He began to rise when it became apparent that their current position, his body only inches above hers, was causing her discomfort. He was halted however, when two hands grabbed his shoulders.

Before Ratchet could blink, Mikaela leaned up and pressed a needy kiss to his lips. The medic's body acted on its own. With her back slightly off the bed, Ratchet's arms slipped under and wrapped around her body, leaving his knees to keep his full weight off Mikaela.

Unlike the first kiss, Mikaela was not still at all. Her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him flush against her body. Her fingers started to play with his short, light brown hair. She could now feel the heat beginning to bubble in the pit of her stomach.

Ratchet could feel arousal spread through his veins like wildfire. When his sensors' indicated that she needed to breath, he pulled away only to let his lips linger over her right ear. "I love you, Mikaela."

With those words confessed with such passion and arousal right into her ear, the heat in Mikaela's body soared. "I love you, too."

A handsome smile graced Ratchet's lips. "Now that, as you humans say, a great burden had been lifted from your shoulder, I believe I can conduct my treatment and persuade you to join me the next time an occasion calls for colorful explosions in the sky."

"What kind of _persuasion_ did you have in mind?" Mikaela asked, not bothering to mask her arousal from her tone now that she knew the medic's feeling towards her.

"This," Ratchet swooped down for another kiss, this one hotter than their last.

"Mmm," Mikaela moaned when the kiss was over. "I do believe your persuasion is helping, but it still feel _terrified_ of fireworks."

The teasing in the brunette's voice did things to Ratchet that hadn't happened in thousands of years.

"Very well," A smirk curled Ratchet's lips. "I will just have to resort to a different tactic."

With a predatory glint in his eyes, Ratchet pulled the covers over top of them.

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><p><em>Constructive criticism is appreciated.<br>Fan art is welcomed and loved._


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